My Personal Journey into Education...

I was born and raised  in Augusta, Kansas, a small town in the Midwest.  As a matter of fact, my family still lives there.  Both of my parents are former educators.  My mom taught elementary school for 31 years and recently retired.  My father is a former high school p.e. teacher and coach.   After eighteen years of teaching and coaching he resigned and went into business for himself.  I also have a sister who teaches special education at the high school level, and a brother, all back in Kansas.

My favorite activity in school happened to be music and drama.  I got involved in the performing arts at a very young age, singing in church and participating in plays as a child actor in the high school plays.  I loved being able to act, sing, dance, and becoming another character.  As a matter of fact, when I graduated from High School I had full scholarship in music and drama and wanted to major in musical theater.  My freshman year I auditioned for a Broadway Style Musical Production at Six Flags over Mid-America in St. Louis.  I was shocked when they  selected me out of over 700 people for the show the following two years.  I loved singing and dancing and entertaining, but knew that in reality, I needed something more "solid" to fall back on.  So, I chose education.

Education Calls...

My first job in education was as a latchkey para at a small school in St. Louis, Missouri.   Being in a school again came so naturally and felt so comfortable.  I was immediately drawn to working with younger children and soon learned that I could use my music and acting skills everyday in the classroom to bring learning alive for young children.  After this realization I returned to Kansas and enrolled in the elementary education department at  Friends University, a private Christian School in Wichita.  From that moment on I knew I was following the right path for my life.  Education was where I was supposed to be. 

I was fortunate to have outstanding, and very "hands-on" clinical experiences in college and I student taught in a 1st/2nd multiage classroom at a wonderful school in Wichita, Emerson Open Magnet School.  My mentor and long-time friend, Bonnie Slack, was my cooperating teacher and has since continued to be a role model my entire career.  She was one of those teachers that truly put children first, before all others.  When someone walked into her class as a visitor they might be greeted with a warm smile, but soon they learned that she was not there to visit or entertain the guests, but to reach and teach every child.  I will never forget the example she set of devote all of your time and energy for your students.

My first "trip" to Washington...

I was offered my first teaching contract in November of 1990, before I started teaching in the Fall of 1991.  I felt called to and was hired for an inner city school in the mean time that was quickly dropping in achievement and needed a major restructuring.  I was selected to help develop a new program, the Accelerated Schools Project from Stanford University.   This school was rich with cultural diversity.  Approximately 1/3 of the student population was ESL and the rest was poverty stricken African American families.   My first month there we had a stabbing in the hallway between two parents and chaos seemed to reign.  After several years of hard work and restructuring of the staff, curriculum, and classroom model, Washington was reopened under its new name of "Washington Accelerated Learning School."

After completing my master's degree in 1994, I wanted to get more experience teaching in the upper grade levels so I  asked for a transfer to Riverside Cultural Arts and History Magnet.  I happened to know the music teacher of this school quite well (my wife Michelle) and since we were starting our family we wanted to have the chance to work together and be closer.  Riverside was a neighborhood magnet school in a revamped part of the "old-town" Riverside Area in downtown Wichita.  The red-brick building was over 100 years old and the families and culture of the school went way back.   We were situated within walking distance of 4 local museums and our school was literally a part of their programs.  The school used school-wide, integrated thematic units through out the school year and had an incredibly talented and creative staff.   Another main focus of the school was writing using the Six Trait Writing Model developed by Vicki Spandel.  As a matter of fact, she happened to come to our school several times to train our staff.

Heading to the Northwest...

Unfortunately, my stay at Riverside was short and sweet as my wife and I decided to explore the idea of moving to the Northwest part of the United States to be closer to her family.  On Easter morning of 1996, we put a "For Sale" sign in our yard and within five days it sold for more than we were asking.  Though it was hard to leave my family and so many of our wonderful friends, we knew that the timing was right for a change, so we left a month later for the Seattle area.

Throughout all of these experiences I have been blessed to have a vast range of teaching experiences at almost every grade level (K-6) and in a variety of settings, including rural, inner city, and magnet school programs. I have also had the opportunity to work with some wonderful students, parents, and educators along the way.  I have always known that education would be my lifelong career, but knew that I wanted to explore many different facets of the educational world.  My love for writing has given me the opportunity to work in the area of curriculum development and publish articles, units, and even work as a contributing writer for an educational book (published in 1995).   I recently had the opportunity to develop teacher education courses for the online college, www.KaplanCollege.com.  I love the world of learning and look forward to sharing that passion with my own school family as a principal.

Becoming an educational leader...

My next venture, is into the world of educational leadership.  I have found that I enjoy working with adults as well as with children.  I enjoy motivating others in areas of school change and curriculum development.  I like helping others develop their strengths to grow and change and strive to improve our schools.  I am excited to be a part of the Riverview School District.  Its strong family and community support, excellent educational staff, and wonderful students make it a great place to begin my career as an educational leader.